The field of embodiments of this invention is polymeric separation membranes in the form of small capillary tubes or hollow fibers for use, for example, in microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO), pervaporation (PV), vapor permeation (VP) or gas separation.
Configurations for textile cage structures useful for reinforcing hollow fiber membranes were disclosed in international (PCT) patent applications PCT/CA2010/000469, published as WO 2010108285 on Sep. 30, 2010, and PCT/CA2010/000993, published as WO 2010148517 on Dec. 29, 2010. These applications disclosed, among other things, tube-shaped reinforcing structures that generally comprise i) a plurality of warp filaments parallel to each other and spaced apart circumferentially, and ii) wrap filaments extending obliquely between at least two of the warp filaments. PCT/CA2010/000469 and PCT/CA2010/000993 are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference to them.